23 May 2023 , 20:49
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A man trained by the terrorist militant group Hezbollah and lived a double life has been sentenced.
Alexei Saab, 44, received military-type training from Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization and was given 12 years behind bars.
During sentencing, the judge acknowledged that Saab, from New Jersey, had suffered whilst incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and reductions brought the sentence down from a recommended 15 years.
Saab, a former KPMG and Microsoft employee, was accused of researching American landmarks such as the Rockefeller Center and Grand Central Terminal in New York City as places for possible terrorist attacks.
Other potential targets, prosecutors said, included all three New York area airports, as well as the Triborough, Brooklyn and George Washington bridges in the city.
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The jury returned a mixed verdict (AFP via Getty Images)A Manhattan federal court jury returned a mixed verdict on May 2022 as they were unable to reach a verdict on the terrorism charge of providing material support for a terrorist group.
Saab was convicted of:
- One count of receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organisation
- One count of conspiracy to commit marriage fraud
- One count of making false statements
The charge of receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organisation carries a potential sentence of 10 years.
He was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to Hizballah, one count of citizenship application fraud, and one count of naturalisation fraud.
During the trial, Assistant US Attorney Sam Adelsberg said in his opening statement: "He posed as a regular guy. In reality, he was a sleeper agent for Hezbollah ready to strike."
Mr Adelsberg said Saab was recruited during his college days in Lebanon - Hezbollah is based in Lebanon - and rose up through the ranks to become a sleeper agent based in the US.
Saab was also found guilty of conspiring to commit marriage fraud and making false statements. The Morristown, New Jersey, resident was exonerated on three other charges after a two-week trial.
US Attorney Damian Williams highlighted the jury’s unanimous verdict that Saab was trained by a terrorist organisation.
“The evidence at trial showed that Saab surveilled some of New York’s most iconic and highly trafficked locations,” Williams said in a statement, “in order to provide critical intelligence on how they could be most effectively attacked.”
Saab’s lawyer, Marlon Kirton, said the evidence used to prosecute his client came mostly from what the convicted man told the FBI.
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Mr Kirton branded the information used as “un-credible, crazy, unsubstantiated information,” which can’t be considered reliable.